The first "kibbutzim" were established long before the creation of Israel as a unique form of collective community based on a socialist ideology and the promotion of the Zionist idea. A typical kibbutz was formed as a closely knit social grouping, sharing all property and means of production and labor, while providing for all the needs of the members.

While initially dependent mostly on agriculture, the kibbutzim later branched into manufacturing and services. For example, Kfar Glickson, a kibbutz in the northern part of Israel's coastal plain, was established in 1939 by Jewish immigrants from Hungary and Romania. Home to some 300 residents, Kfar Glickson relies on agriculture (field crops, a dairy farm), a small handcraft industry and rural tourism.

Today, there are some 270 kibbutzim in Israel. Most of these unique communities have had to adapt to a rapidly changing social and economic reality and, as Israel became more developed and its economy more liberal, had to compromise on many ideologically based aspects of the original kibbutz.

 

A "moshav" is a unique type of cooperative farmers' village invented in Israel in the early part of the 20th century. As opposed to the more communal kibbutz, the members of the moshav preserve a relatively large degree of economic autonomy, but they do share various elements of mutual assistance.

Established as the first moshav in 1921, Nahalal is an extraordinary example of rural planning based on vision and ideology. The village revolves around a circular axis, with the farmers' houses gathered around a virtual "round table" demonstrating equality and collective reliance. Public buildings are concentrated in the inside of the inner circle, while the agricultural fields spread out in all directions like the rays of a sun. Diverse water sources are used to irrigate the various fields.